TEHRAN (FNA)- The 2015 Paris climate agreement sought to stabilize global temperatures by limiting warming to "well below 2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels," but a recent literature review found the 2 degree limitation "inadequate" and concluded that limiting global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees would "come with several advantages."

To quantify what that would mean for people living in coastal areas, a group of researchers employed a global network of tide gauges to create probabilistic, localized sea-level projections that assess differences in the frequency of storm surges and other extreme sea-level events across three scenarios: global temperature increases of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 degrees Celsius. They used long-term hourly tide gauge records and extreme value theory to estimate present and future return periods of extreme sea-level events through the 22nd century.

They concluded that by 2150, the seemingly small difference between an increase of 1.5 and 2.0 degrees C would mean the inundation of lands currently home to about 5 million people, including 60,000 who live on small island nations.

The study was published online in Environmental Research Letters on Feb. 2, 2018 by researchers at Princeton University working with colleagues at Rutgers and Tufts Universities.

In addition, they found that higher temperatures will make extreme events much more common. In New York City, for example, they estimate that "100-year floods" will become annual events under a 1.5 degree rise and twice-annual events with a 2.0 degree rise.

Extreme sea levels are defined as the combined height of high tide plus storm surge (sometimes called the storm tide). When driven by hurricanes or other large storms, extreme sea levels flood coastal areas, threatening life and property. Rising mean sea levels are already magnifying the frequency and severity of extreme sea levels, and experts predict that by the end of the century, coastal flooding may be among the costliest impacts of climate change in some regions.

The risk from extreme events is exacerbated by the rising global sea level, which in turn depends on the trajectory of global mean surface temperature. Even if global temperatures are stabilized, sea levels are expected to continue to rise for centuries, due to the long residence time of anthropogenic carbon dioxide, the thermal inertia of the ocean, and the slow response of large ice sheets to forcing.

Overall, the researchers predicted that by 2100, a 1.5 degree temperature increase will drive the global mean sea level up by 19 inches (48 centimeters, 90 percent credible interval of 28–82 cm), while a 2.0 degree increase will raise oceans by 22 inches (56 cm, 90 percent credible interval of 28–96 cm), and a 2.5 degree increase will raise sea level by 23 inches (58 cm, 90 percent credible interval of 37–93 cm). As an independent comparison, a semi-empirical sea level model calibrated to temperature and global mean sea level over the past two millennia made similar predictions, within 7 to 8 centimeters of these projections.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Kurdish sources in Northeastern Syria disclosed once again on Monday that the US troops have conducted heliborne operations to rescue a number of entrapped ISIL commanders who had escaped to Northern Hasaka province after losing the war in Iraq.

TEHRAN (FNA)- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the longstanding Israeli siege on Gaza Strip has led to deteriorated living conditions of approximately two million Palestinians in the blockaded coastal enclave.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a message felicitated Angela Merkel on her reelection as the Chancellor of Germany, voicing the hope that bilateral ties between Tehran and Berlin would expand based on mutual respect and common interests.

TEHRAN (FNA)- A US-Israeli plot to launch attacks against Damascus from several fronts in collaboration with the NATO, Israel and Jordan failed, sources revealed on Monday as the Syrian army carried out successful operations in Eastern Ghouta.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian foreign ministry said the French top diplomat, Jean-Yves Le Drian's adamant stance on Iran's missile and regional power after he was briefed about Tehran's policy during a recent visit to the Asian nation is a source of regret and display that talks with some Western statesmen might lead to nowhere.

TEHRAN (FNA)- More than 79,000 civilians have left terrorist-held regions in Eastern Ghouta via humanitarian corridors for safe zones controlled by the Syrian Army troops, the spokesman for the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria said on Monday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Rapporteur of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini rapped Washington for numerous violations of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of the Iranian Border Guards Brigadier General Qassem Rezayee said the country's border guard who was wounded in a 2017 cross-border attack in Southeastern Iran and was then taken by the terrorists to Pakistan is still alive.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Turkish Army's new convoy of forces and equipment has entered Southern Idlib, field sources reported on Monday, adding that the Syrian Army has opened fire at regions near the positions of the Turkish troops in Southern Aleppo.